Driver admitted to consuming cocaine, marijuana prior to fatal school bus crash

A truck driver admitted to consuming cocaine and marijuana prior to a crash with a school bus that killed two people over a week ago. 

The accident happened on March 22nd, just before 2 p.m. in Bastrop County, Texas. 42-year-old truck driver Jerry Hernandez veered into the buses lane, which caused the fatal wreck that took the lives of 5-year-old Ulises Rodriguez Montoya and 33-year-old Ryan Wallace, who was in a car behind the bus. 

According to KXAN, Hernandez told investigators that he had smoked marijuana at about 10 p.m. the night before, and had consumed cocaine at about 1 a.m. the morning before the wreck. He also told police he had slept only three hours the night before the crash. Police then obtained a warrant to test the driver’s blood. 

During the investigation, it was discovered that Hernandez “had a refusal for a reasonable suspicion test” in the Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse database from September 2020, “which would have warranted he be referred to a Substance Abuse Professional (SAP) for evaluation,” reported KXAN. He was tested for marijuana on Dec 15th, 2022 and cocaine on April 11th 2023. 

The owner of FJM Concrete, LLC, who employed Hernandez at the time of the wreck, said that “there were no known mechanical problems or complaints with the truck involved in the crash.”

The results of the most recent blood test are not known. CBS reports that Hernandez has been charged with criminally negligent homicide.